Gear casing



March 28, 1933. G H ACKER 1,902,934

GEAR CASING Filed Aug. 27, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 2s, 1933. Q H AC'KER 1,902,934

GEAR CAS ING Filed Aug. 27, 1951 s sheets-sheet 2 g f4 wf INVENToR Z6 ,j Kyiv* Q4 l (BY M s ATTORNEYS l G. H. ACKER 1,902,934

GEAR cAsING Marcil 2s, 1932..l

Filed Aug. 27, 1931 :s sheets-sheet 3 `BY M* ATTORNEYS yINVENTOR Patented Mar. 2s, 1933 UNIT-E1n s'n'xfllrzsl PATENT j oFFlcE GEORGE E. ACIER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE 'WORM .LND GEAR COMPANY, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO am casme 4Application led August 27, 1931.

The invention relates to welded casings for machinery and the like.

According to the invention, the casing for a worm gear reduction unit or other ma- 5 chinery or the like is made up of sheet material fastened together principally by welding. The casing may comprise a body and a removable cap. Both the cap and body may be assembled by welding the several walls thereof together.

According to one form which the invention may take, the body may have its side walls made up of a plurality of U-shaped members welded together. Opposite side walls may be provided with oifset portici s to provide strengthening ribs. The upper edges of the body may be provided with inner and outer ianges welded thereto, preferably above the upper edges of the side walls to provide an oil groove for lubricating the worm wheel or other moving part. The bottom may be suitably welded withinthe side Walls and suitable base lugs or bars may be welded to the bottom of the body by means of' which the unit is Vsecured to a suitable support.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction andv combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be particularly pointed out inthe claims appended hereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and the manner 5 in which it may be carried out, maybe better Serial No. 559,688.

FFig. 4 is a detail taken on the line 4-4 ofv ig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7--7 of Fig. 6;. 50 Fig. 8 is a detail illustrating one manner of welding; Fig. 9 is a partially exploded and rspective illustrating-the construction of t e body;

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the cover; and 55 Fig. 11 is a detail illustrating the formation of the oil groove.

In the following description and in the claims, various `details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the art will permit. l

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, certain specific disclosure of the inventionis made for purposes of explanation, but it will be understood that the details may be modified in various respects without departure from the 7 broad` aspect of the invention.- y

Referring now to the drawings and more 4,particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the worm gear reduction unit comprises in general the body' 10, a removable cover or cap 11, a worm wheel 12 and a worm 13 in mesh therewith, both of'which are journalled in the casing.

Referring now also to the other figures, the V body 10 of the casing is made up of a pair of U-shaped members 14 having their ends 80 l*welded together by seams 15. The U-shaped members are so constructed as to form the opposite side walls 16, end walls 17, o'set end walls 18 and strengthening ribs 19. It will be understood that if desiredV instead of 8.5 making this part of theI casing form two U-shaped members, a single member may be used bent to the shape shown and welded to form a complete ring by a single seam?.

f Welded to the outer surface of 'the-bodi "P are 'flanges 20 and to the inner surface of the body are welded flanges 21 of the shape shown. Also welded to the body are flange plates 22 .and bearing yokes 23, both being curved to iit a cut-out portion in. the oiset end walls 18 and forming bearing recesses, indicated generally by 24. The flanges 20 and 21and also the members 22 and 23 preferably extend a short distance above the upper edge of the vside walls to form oil grooves, indicated by 25, as illustrated especialy in Fig. 11.

elded to the lower edges of the side walls are base bars 26 by which the unit is secure bi holding down bolts (not shown) or the l' e to a suitablev support. It will be noted that the holding down bars 26`are in direct contact with the reinforcingv flanges or parts 19.

To provide a bearing for the worm 13, bearing sleeves within suitable openings in the side walls 16 j and welded in the position, as shown.

submerged Braces or flanges 3() are provided, extending between the ilanges 19'to further strengthen the body. A bottom wall32 sloping toward the center, is suitably welded within the upstanding walls of the body around the edge of the bottom wall, as indicated at 34.

If desired, a cooling coil, indicated by 31, may be placed at the bottom of the body inthe lubricant and through which a cooling medium, such as water, is

, circulated to help dissipate the heat generatedl by the moving parts. The coil 31 may be mounted in any desired manner. 'For feeding the oil vgrooves 25' with lubricant catch cups 28 may be provided disposed on diagrammatically opposite sides of the worm wheel 12 and on opposite side faces thereof to catch the lubricant dropping from the teeth of the worm wheel and to feed the same to theoil-'grooves' 25, whence the oil is fed to the bearings mounted within the bearing 4spaces 24.- Catch cups 28 are provided with v a cutfout portion 29 communicating with vthe oil grooves 25 and they are adjustably .'dicated by 41, suitably welded together.y

' or more sectionswelded together.

mounted so as to adjust for clearance with the worm wheel 12.

Referring now to the cap or cover 11, this is made up of a plurality of side walls, in-

The side walls 41 maybe in one piece and welded at a single seam to form a complete ring,` or the side walls may be formed in two stance, each side wall may be formed separately or the side walls may beformed of U-shaped members welded together in the same manner. as described above inv connection with the body 10. The top wall 42 is welded to the side walls 41 and lifting eye bolts 45 are preferable welded to the top wall as indicated in Fig. 6. If desired, suit-l dirt.

27 having lugs 36'are secured bricating principle is particularly vwith this particular form of For inable reinforcing braces f 43 may be welded at the positions shown.

' To provide a housing the curved member 44 extending to the inner surface of the side walls 41.

For clamping the cover'11 to the body 10, holes"65 are placedin the lugs 45 and holes 64 are tapped in the yokes 23. Clamping d bolts (not shown) pass through the hole 65 and are screw-threaded through the hole 64 tol securely clamp the cover to the body to prevent the loss of lubricant and'. ingress of Other clamping bolts provided with nuts, indicated generally lby 164, pass through flanges 46 and 20'as shown. l

For mountlng the worm gear 12, a shaft 50 is journalled within roller bearings made of inner races 53, rollers 54 and outer races 55. Spacing sleeves 51 are disposed between the Worm wheel 12 and the inner races'53. Caps 56 and 59 are secured tothe ilanges 22 and curved members 44 by suitable bolts 58. Cover plate 59 is completely closed and cover plate 56 is provided with an oil groove 57`for catching o1l which may leak along the 'shaft 50. Shaft 50 is provided with an external' ower transmitting device such as an overanging `gear (not. shown) For mounting struction'is used, including closed cap 60 and open cap 61 which are secured to the bearing rings 27 by suitable bolts 63. The worm 13 is mounted upon a'shaft 62 which is driven from any suitable source for power.

It will be un erstood that most of the parts above described, particularly those formin the -walls of the casing, are made from s eet material suitablybent to shape and weldedeat the points indicated by any approved form of welding, such as indicated, for instance, in Fig. 8 where the welded seams extend from both sides of the sheets.

Although any form of lubrication may be used with the welded construction according to the invention, the above described lucasing. The h in copending principle is described at len 7 3, filed March application Serial ,No.` 435,

It will be noted that the teeth on the worm wheel 12 extend' at an angle to `the axls of the worm 13 a similar con-l for the worm wheel bearings curved members 44 having lugs 145 useful revolution of the gear and incline toward one side face of the gear when movingfrom a lower to an upper positionand inclined to another side face of the gear when moving yfrom an upper to a lower position. The catch cups 28 are preferably spaced 1from the ear 12 so that they cannot touch it. This'c earance .may be quite small andij ust suilicient to 48, as shown. Also flanges Lacasse allow for a sli ht bending of the gear under load. With t 's clearance when the oil is cold it may be thick enough on the side faces e of the gear to touch the cups. Whenan operating temperature is reached the oil may be rather well thinned out and the coating 0n the faces of the worm gear may be tool small to reach the cups.

The oil level in the bottom of the body is l0 preferably suliiciently high to coat the teeth of the worm wheel l2 well with oil, when they mesh the worm 13. As the teeth on the worm wheel 12 travel upwardly, the .oil may run to the lower sides and drops of oil may fall off 15 the teeth and be caught by the catch cup 28,

directly thereunder. As the teeth reach their uppermost position, the remaining oil on them collects in the hollow formed at the roots of the gear teeth, and when the teeth move downwardly, this oil runs olf in the direction of the slope of the teeth and is wiped o or caught by the other catch cup.

The oil from the catch cups runs intothe oil grooves whence it runs linto the bear- 2"? ings 24. It will be noted that slots 37 are upon the operating temperatures reached.- The welded construction lends itself very' well to the problem of lubrication and: is of such shape that there are no dead spaces which would interfere with the proper radiationof the heat. Furthermore, the above advantages are accomplished without sacricing strength. The walls of the casing are so shaped and ribbed as .-to provide maximum strength.

' 45 While certain novel features of the inven` -tion have been disclosed and are pointed'out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made byv those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

' What is claimed is:

1. in a casing for gearing, side and end walls, inner and outer members welded to said side Vwallsl and extending slightly above the upper edge thereof and forming an oil groove therewith, bearing pieces weldedto said end walls and connect-ing with said ao groove, and means for supplying oil Ato fsaid groove. e

2. In a casing for a worm gear reduction unit, a sheet metal wall, inner and outer members welded thereto and forming an oil groove therewith, a bearing on said casing,`

and means for lubricating said bearing through said oil groove.

3 In a casing for gearing, a pair of U- shaped members having their free ends welded together, said welded free ends forming the side walls of the casing, the closed ends of said members forming the end walls of the I'zoI casing, said end walls having outwardly eX-.

tending offset portions strengthening ianges, bearing members welded to said offset portions,`and base bars welded to the lower ends of said offset portion and strengthening iianges.

4. In a casing for gearing, a pair of U- shaped members having their free ends weldconnected by ed together, said welded free en ds forming the side walls of the casing, the closed ends of said members forming the end wall of the casing, said end .walls having oset portions -connected by strengthening Vflanges, and

bearing members welded to said offset portions.

5. Ina casing for a worm gear reduction unit, a. pair of U-shaped Vmembers having their free ends welded together and forming the side walls ofthe casing, certain of said walls having offset portions connected by strengthening flanges, and bearing members secured to said o lset portions.

6. In a casing for a worm gear reduction unit, a. body com risingla pair of U-shaped members having their projecting ends welded together, the welded projecting ends forming the sidewalls of the body andthe closed ends forming the end walls of the body, said end f walls being provided with offset portions connected by strengthening flanges, outer and inner flanges welded to said side walls and adj acent partof the end walls above the upper edges of said walls to form 'oil grooves, outer and inner curved members welded to 4said oiset iend'- walls to provide bearing A spaces and to provide cooperating oil grooves connecting ywith said first oil grooves, base bars welded tothe lower ends of said U- shaped members across said end walls, oset portions and strengthening flanges, and `additional strengthening ribs extending between said strengthening flanges and welded thereto.

- InA a casing for a worm gear reduction fumt, a body comprising a pair of U-shaped members having their project-ing ends welded together, the welded projecting ends forming the side walls of the body and the closed endsl forming the end walls bf the body, said end .walls lbeing provided with oset portions connected by strengthening flanges, outer and inner ianges welded lgsaid side walls and adjacent part ofthe end walls above the upper edges of Asaid walls to form oil grooves,

and outer and inner curved members welded'l to said offset end walls t'"'provide bearing spaces/and to provide additional oil grooves connecting with said firstwoil grooves.

l ing a pair of U-shaped mem bod'y compris- 8. In a casing for gearing): h

rs havin free ends welded together to form si end walls for the casin certain l of said walls being providedwith o set portions connect-` ed by strengthening flanges, outer and inner l anges secured to other of said side walls and extending above the upper edges thereof` to form oil grooves, bearing members secured to said offset walls, said bearing members connecting with said oil grooves.-A

In testimony whereof I -have hereunto set;-`

my hand.

v GEORGE H. ACKER.

eand- 

